


Tech Week

by Fiercest



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oblivious Heartbreaker Katsuki Yuuri, all stars on ice, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 00:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20684372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiercest/pseuds/Fiercest
Summary: All Stars On Ice is like skater summer camp and Joey, the lighting technician has developed a bit of a serial summer crush on the completely unattainable Yuuri Katsuki.For Nara and Viktuuri Summer Lovin!(Prompt: Oblivious heartbreaker Yuuri Katsuki before and after, and including Victor, told from an outsider's perspective or multiple outsiders' perspectives - even though Yuuri has still never been in a relationship before Victor)





	Tech Week

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nara/gifts).

When Joey stares at his student loan bills, he doesn't think 'why did I ever go to film school?'. He thinks: 'thank god there are other applications for a film degree'. He quite likes his job and has been working the same one for close to three years now. Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosts hockey and basketball games, concerts and various special events. He's been a key lighting tech for all of the above.

His favourite days are when he gets to work with the travelling techs for various artists. His secret shame is that the work he's most proud of is Lady Gaga's last tour. His second favourite is Kendrick Lamarr and that's gotta count for something.

There's also… The All-Stars Ice Tour.

There's something awesome about seeing people jump around on skates, throwing each other every which way. One year, they were able to rig a retired pair of ice dancers to a trapeze. That was awesome. Plus, there's this one guy who trains locally that comes back every year and he's amazing. The floor director, who's super into figure skating, says that they're his exhibitions. Not even his competition programs! Plus, he's got his amazing smile.

Cassie:

_and by smile you mean his butt right?_

Joey:

_F u straight to hell you heathen_

Cassie:

_Damn forgot it was July already_

Joey:

_?_

Cassie:

_You do this every year_

_He lives here_

_You're not unfortunate looking, just ask him to RDO._

The RDO, which is actually bar called _Lewis't Common Denominator_, has a big neon window sign that reads RODEO but is perpetually half-burnt out. It's an afterbirth of the trendy 'clever' name trend and the simpler identifier stuck. But their drinks are cheap, there's a mechanical bull and they never card anyone, so it's been a staple since college. Joey's a creature of habit.

Joey:

_I wish mom never married Greg_

Cassie:

_Agreed, she's way too cool for dad_

Joey:

_*Middle finger emoji*_

Why will his stepsister not indulge him when he tries to be petty.

It's not that he's never tried to ask Yuuri Katsuki to go out with him, it's that something always happens to prevent it. The first year, Joey was still new and still very shy. The second year, Yuuri was clearly dating the Thai skater who always wanted to take selfies together. The third year Joey'd overthought it and chickened out. This year is his year. He can make it happen!

And barring that, he can google which rink they train at and engineer a coincidental run in. Desperate? Maybe so. But all's fair when a cute butt is on the line.

.

.

Detroit is the first stop on the All-Stars tour, so rehearsals take place there. A solid week of what is essentially skater summer camp. He's heard things…

Joey's not sure if he's gotten thirstier, if he's paying better attention or if Yuuri has transformed into a completely different person, but everything's different. He's got this sexy sway to his walk, he dresses to accentuate his amazingly sculpted body… After the first day, Yuuri and a couple other skaters (one Russian, one Swiss, with different shades of blond hair) came up to the control booth.

_"Thank you for all your hard work," Yuuri said with a shy smile and a slight bow. Behind him, the older skater looked thrilled and the younger one looked murderous._

_When Yuuri stood again to his full height, hands clasped in front of him, Joey's eyes zeroed in on the gold ring on his right hand._

_"N-no problem!" he mumbled, completely masked by the collective response of the other techs._

That night he furiously googled Japanese marriage customs; if they wear their wedding rights on the right hand, if they wear wedding rings at all. He doesn't find anything of the like, just a Wikipedia article about Russian marriage customs; but considering the only Russian he's ever seen Yuuri with is sixteen, he thinks he's probably safe.

.

.

Yurio is sick to death of Yuuri's forlorn sighing, but for Phichit it's just par for the course. Yuuri pining for Viktor is not an unfamiliar circumstance for him. He sincerely hopes no one ever thinks to ask him anything specific about Yuuri and his posters, he doesn't think he can keep that secret forever.

Perhaps two years ago, Phichit would have been able to help Yuuri with his heartache (frozen yogurt, _The King and the Skater _and _Digimon_ marathons cure all), but the downside to a beautifully perfect marriage to a man who fulfills your every fantasy and loves you more than life itself and also his dog, is that when you're apart… it sucks.

So Phichit is spending a lot of time watching Yuuri forlornly stare out windows. He's also spending a lot of time covering his ears while Yurio yells at Yuuri staring forlornly out of windows.

Beside him, Yuuri heaves an immense sigh.

"When does Viktor get here again?" Phichit directs the question to Yurio.

"Not soon enough."

"Bet you never thought you'd say that."

Yurio rolls his eyes and slumps further down in the subway seat. When his older counterpart sighs again, he punches him hard in the arm. Thirty seconds later though, he's leaning his forehead in that exact spot and dozing.

"Is this the longest you've been apart?" Phichit asks, sympathetic.

"Since our Nationals." He'd received a lot of sad phone calls that winter. Yuuri tried to put on a brave face, but there was only so much he could hold out.

_"I can't tell Viktor," Yuuri confided, "He'll feel terrible. He cried on facetime the other day." And while it was hard to picture the five time World Champion and six time Grand Prix gold medalist crying, Phichit learned long ago that Yuuri's effect on the man (and gay men, generally) could not be underestimated._

So Phichit resolves to distract him until Viktor joins them later this week.

All Stars is great. All their friends are here, there's no pressure. Should be simple.

.

.

It would be too simple if Joey could just _ask _Yuuri out. This is three years in the making. There were bound to be other obstacles.

It's good luck that makes RDO the locale where the skaters choose to spend their Thursday night, but it's not conducive to the intimate one-on-one he's been hoping for. Instead, he's sipping his beer in a corner booth, watching the party get rowdier and rowdier. Skaters know how to show out, apparently.

He hasn't seen Yuuri all night and is about to get up to leave when a commotion on the impromptu dance floor draws his attention.

"REMATCH," shrieks the tiny Russian perpetually found at his crush's side.

"You sure?" Yuuri's arrogant voice carries in a way it never does. "Hasn't ended well for you yet kotyonok."

"I will wear your achilles tendons as bracelets you pig!"

Joey meanders closer to the scene, like the crocodile hunter trying not to insert himself into a battle over territory.

It's really no contest. Yuuri is such a beautiful dancer.

"Yuuri~!" toodles the tall, blond guy with biceps that make Joey sad about himself. "Care to have a reunion? Viktor will be so sad he missed it."

"Don't worry," pipes up Yuuri's ex (even his ex still wants to be his friend!), brandishing his smartphone, "I'm livestreaming."

"Oh good," Little Yuri spits.

"Hiiii Viktor!" Yuuri flirts shamelessly with the stream. He's so cute. Joey could just die.

And then he starts pole dancing. He's going to have a stroke. He has to ask him out or he really may die. Joey moves to ask him to dance… to date… to run away with him to a cottage in Maine—When Yuuri is suddenly swinging around a pole and kicks him in the face.

He lies on the sticky floor and decides that staying put is probably wise. Yuuri falls to his knees beside him and runs his clumsy, drunken hands down Joey's chest, searching for injuries. "I am _SO_ SORRY!"

Worth it.

.

.

The day of the first All Stars On Ice performance, Joey still hasn't properly talked to Yuuri. His stepsister is cyberbullying him and everything is terrible.

He's making progress though.

After kicking him in the face, Yuuri sat with him in the hospital waiting room for four hours while he waited to see a doctor. They talked non-stop for those four hours. Well, mostly _he_ talked. Yuuri's quiet, and an intent listener. He's funny, when you spend enough time with him.

Joey goes through his day in a pleasant haze of excitement and smittenness. He texts his stepsister six gifs that summarize his feelings.

After wrap he'll ask him. He has his number now, he'll ask him to meet him in the stadium when everyone else has gone home. There's something really awesome about the stillness of an empty arena.

Between the first couple of group numbers and Phichit Chulanont's Cup of China gold medal skate, he gets too excited and texts Yuuri.

_You wanna meet me in the reds after wrap?  
I want to show you something._

_Sure!_

He smiles into his lap and almost misses an important cue. If not for Lucy kicking him under the console, he would have missed five more.

The night's almost over, two more numbers to go; Yuuri's exhibition then the final group dance.

"Please welcome to the ice," the announcer booms from his booth beside the lighting panel, "World Champion, Yuuri Katsuki, performing his exhibition program _Stammi Vicino, _joined by his coach, Viktor Nikiforov."

Weird that he's never seen the rehearsals for this number. His instructions were for a simple tracking spotlight, so there wasn't much that needed setting up, but it's weird that it wasn't part of the dress run through from earlier in the week. It only takes a few moments for it to become apparent why that is.

As the melody cascades, a violin joins the harp and a man joins Yuuri on the ice. The crowd _loses their minds_. The man is taller than Yuuri, with hair so blonde it's white under the spotlight. Their matching costumes glitter and their smiles match. The stranger takes Yuuri's hand and guides him across the ice through shared spins, dips and lifts. For them to be so in sync with no practice is amazing. Their musicality, mesmerizing. Joey can't look away.

On hanging scoreboard, a closeup stream of the performance plays. It can only focus on their faces for brief moments, but every time they look relaxed and blissful; like this is exactly where they belong.

He doesn't understand Italian, but Joey is inexplicably sad. Something in him aches for a thing he's never known and he can't pinpoint what. He feels lonely, even in a room full of people. And as the music crescendos and arrives at its end, Yuuri and the blond man arrive in each others arms once again-in their ending pose.

Without meaning to, he starts to clap along with the crowd, thankfully he's not alone in this. Beside him, Lucy claps too. There are tears in her eyes. "Wow," she whispers, rubbing at them. "You're right Joe, he's so good." Oh yeah, maybe he _has_ mentioned Yuuri… once or twice…

More than ever, he can't wait to talk to him.

.

.

Later, when everything's been taken down, the ice cleaned and the skaters released into the wilds of the locker rooms, Joey waits in the designated section for Yuuri to appear.

From his vantage point in one of the seats, he can see Yuuri trekking up towards him from ice level. He waves and as he gets closer, Joey can see drops of water clinging to the ends of his hair. His eyeliner is a little smudged under one eye and his Team Japan jacket is unzipped low enough that he can tell there's no T-shirt underneath. He's beautiful.

Joey can't help but blush as he waves. He starts to psych himself up, taking deep breaths and clenching and unclenching his hands.

Yuuri is so cute that at first, Joey doesn't notice that there's someone with him. His ice dancing partner from before.

They're holding hands, making their way towards him. Something in Joey's head starts shrieking. Possibly, it's alarm bells.

"Hi Joey, have you met Viktor yet?"

Joey clears his throat but it doesn't stop his voice from cracking as he introduces himself. "Uh- no- I. Hey. Joey."

Viktor gives him a once over and seems to size him up. Something sharp and alien flashes in the man's eyes. His smile is jovial, but his eyes say _kill._ "Pleasure to meet you Joe."

"I… prefer Joey."

"I don't."

"…Oh."

They stand in awkward silence. Viktor purses his lips innocently and brings his and Yuuris clasped hands up to his mouth. Yuuri's left hand is held tightly in Viktor's right. And on that hand is a familiar looking gold band. A gold band that Joey has obsessed over.

"I hope you don't mind," Yuuri is saying, "Viktor only just got in an hour before our call time and…" he blushes, "Well, we've been apart for a couple of weeks now, so I'm not really ready to be apart again."

"Aaaaw Yuuri!" Viktor yanks their bonded hands to his chest, pulling Yuuri in too. "Isn't my fiancé just the sweetest thing to have ever existed?"

The shrieking is back. It sounds like sirens. Possibly an ambulance coming to collect him. "F-fiancé?"

From the cage of Viktor's embrace, Yuuri—completely unbothered—smiles, still devastatingly handsome. "What did you want to talk about?"

Joey hesitates, castinig around for literally any option besides getting shut down in front of his Crush's FIANCE. "Uhhh…"

In Viktor, he miraculously finds his saviour, "Did you want to talk to us about doing more ice shows? Or tweaking the lighting effects for _Stammi Vicino?_"

"Yes. Yep. That's exactly it, I wanted to know if I could do anything cooler than a spotlight for you guys?"

They chat a while, making plans, requests and suggestions to each other. Joey almost forgets to feel crushed, Yuuri's being so nice and helpful. Even Viktor, who has tons of experience.

"YO, KATSUDON. DID YOU FORGET?" A voice booms from down below. Little Yuri has come looking for them.

"Shit," Yuuri whispers, "Uh, I'll text you Katya's number later ok? She knows way more about that than me." He turns back, "Coming!" Then jogs to join the teen.

Viktor lags behind. Surprisingly, his gaze is no longer cold, but sympathetic. He pats Joey's shoulder. "We've all been there."

"Yeah?" He appreciates the sympathy.

"All of us. It's hard not to," Viktor shrugs, "If you asked me how I did it, I would not be able to tell you."

"That's fair."

"Oblivious heartbreaker, that's our Yuuri," a voice from behind Joey startles them both. Phichit smiles from two rows behind them.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"Yeah," Then, unapologetically, "I've been live tweeting the whole thing."


End file.
